Tears of the Sun by Jennifer McCormack

Author:Jennifer McCormack [McCormack, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

TALON STILL DID not trust Niercel, even though Jan thought it best to work with the Kalvat Arbiters as they investigated the events of the masquerade. It was slow going, especially since the assassin they captured was found dead in his cell before the Arbiters had the chance to question him. Talon found it odd that someone would be able to infiltrate the Vermillion Temple and kill one of the Arbiters’ prisoners. It was without a doubt an inside job, another reason why Talon did not want to accept help from the Kalvat Arbiters. Someone in the Vermillion Temple was not what they seemed. She wondered how many of the Arbiters were susceptible to corruption by Morgsten and the Coruscalli.

On the bright side, at least Jan had the sense not to confide any details of the Coruscalli to Niercel, although Talon suspected Jan’s reasons for doing so differed from her own. Kalvatin was a political powder keg. From what Talon understood, the rest of Lythril trembled in fear before Kalvatin’s arcane wisdom and unfathomable might in the ancient arts. To the Mainlanders, Kalvatin was a sleeping giant. They tread softly around it lest they awaken the beast. Talon scoffed at the idea. From what she had seen, Kalvatin was in its infancy stage when compared to Astraeyu Nouvi. Perhaps that was why the Mainlanders feared Astraeyu Nouvins so much. If Astraeyu Nouvi was viewed as a magical threat even worse than Kalvatin, it was little wonder why the Mainlanders shunned Astraeyu Nouvins as they did.

Talon was growing impatient at the Vermillion Temple. She did not understand what there was to investigate about the night of the masquerade. Morgsen deployed agents at the party to instigate trouble, mainly to divert attention away from his true objective: the assassination of the Grand Arbiter. Jan had survived in no small part due to Talon’s keen eye. It was still difficult for Talon to accept that some viewed her as a hero, including Jan. The attention was oddly thrilling, but Talon was not so easily distracted. Morgsten was still free to plot his next move. It was foolish for Jan to remain in Kalvatin when it was obvious that Morgsten was aware of her intentions to expose him. Another attempt at Jan’s life would be made, Talon felt sure of it. No one knew when and where the next assassin might strike, especially if Morgsten had agents planted among the Arbiters. Jan was not safe, not even in the Vermillion Temple, but she refused to leave Kalvatin.

“I can’t turn back now,” she had said when Talon confronted her. “Not when we’re so close. Morgsten will slip up and reveal his true colors. I want to be in Orsela when that happens.”

Talon was left with no choice but to accept that they were staying in Kalvatin, at least for now. Meanwhile, the Coruscalli were laying low, lurking in the shadows doing Astraeyu knew what while the Arbiters kept coming to dead ends. Talon almost wished for something to happen.

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